Apparatus and method for tracking inventory of multiple goods in multiple shipping cartons

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method for tracking inventory for goods having a variety of styles and characteristics, and which have a variety of possible shipping destinations. The apparatus of the invention includes a multi-part label that is attachable to each of the goods and has a removable portion that can be detached from the original label and reapplied to a shipping carton for a collection of goods. The method of the invention includes utilizing information from indicia applied to each of the goods in conjunction with an inventory distribution system and shipping cartons to keep track of the location of all goods at any time between sorting the goods for shipping and packing the goods for shipment, without requiring any manual steps, such as scanning, during sorting and packing of the goods.

1. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1.1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates generally to tracking of inventory goods that arepacked into shipping cartons for a variety of shipping destinations, andin particular, to a system of labeling the boxes holding the goods andthe shipping cartons to accomplish inventory control and shippingmanagement of the goods and the shipping cartons.

1.2. Problems in the Art

1.2.1. General Setting of the Invention

A significant part of most manufacturing and distribution processes iscontrol of the finished product. The manufacturer most times takesorders from wholesale or retail outlets. The orders must be processed ina manner that results in the correct goods being shipped to the correctoutlet.

Accurate control of finished inventory is particularly difficult if awide variety of types of goods are manufactured. Therefore, systems havebeen developed to attempt to keep accurate track of inventory of themanufacturer and how it is handled relative to orders from outlets.

For purposes of example only, the issue of inventory and shippingcontrol will be discussed in the context of a company that manufactures(or has manufactured for it) a wide variety of goods, particularly awide variety of shoe styles, colors and sizes. Generally, each varietyof shoes will come in a pair (left and right feet) and be placed in abox or bag. For purposes of this discussion, the container of the shoepair will be generically called a shoe box, with the understanding thatthere may be items that do not come in pairs or do not come in acontainer.

The company has a central facility or facilities, such as a distributioncenter, that continuously receive(s) orders from its retail shoe outletslocated around the country and which has/have built up an inventory ofthe variety of shoes. Each central facility processes the orders, whichnormally call for different shoes. Some orders can ask for more than oneof a certain style, color and size. For example, one retail outlet mayorder five of the identical goods (e.g. red, size 9, style A). Someorders ask for only one shoe pair. Some orders ask for a wide variety ofshoe pairs in a number that requires multiple shipping cartons or casesto transport that quantity of goods to the particular store. Forpurposes of this discussion, the term shipping carton or carton willrefer to the container in which one or more items are shipped to theretail outlet.

1.2.2. Conventional Methods and Systems

Presently, automated or semi-automated systems are utilized by somecompanies for handling of finished goods, here shoes, for example.Machine-readable indicia can be placed on the shoe boxes to identifytheir contents, including information related to style, size, color, andso on. One example of machine-readable indicia and the machine that canread it is laser scanners and bar codes, such as are widely known.

However, it is common for manufacturers of a variety of styles and/orsizes of shoes to ship a number of different shoes to a number ofdifferent locations. It is difficult to accurately keep track ofinventory and shipping instructions.

One system in use utilizes the bar codes on each shoe box to know theuniverse of shoes in inventory at the manufacturer at any given time.The codes for each box are scanned and stored in a central computer, byapparatus and methods well known in the art. The orders from the retailoutlets are retrieved from the manufacturer's inventory and areorganized in a fashion so that they can be packed for shipping to thevarious shipping destinations, in this example the various retailoutlets.

There is a need to identify individual shoe boxes packed within eachshipping carton so that the manufacturer can keep track of theinventory. Presently, one common way to do so is to have the worker(s)which is/are packing the cartons manually individually scan the bar codeof each box as or after it has been packed in the carton, or at leastmanually scan the last box packed into the carton. A label can also beplaced on the carton which has information regarding, for example,shipping destination. This can also be scanned.

Systems have also been developed which allow for automated sorting ofshoe boxes out of the manufacturer's inventory into what will be calledpacking lanes. The sorting system is designed to know the contents ofeach box placed on a conveyor system and, importantly, is also designedto know the position of each box on the conveyor system. A controller,usually a computer having information related to the contents of eachbox, its position on the conveyor system, and the orders for variousshipping destinations (usually the retail outlets), then autonomouslydistributes a sequence of shoe boxes to a shipping lane in a manner thatthe workers packing the shipping cartons will have in one group all theboxes that should go to a pre-determined shipping destination. As can beeasily appreciated, this significantly reduces the time and human effortneeded to collect the particular boxes ordered by an outlet, as well asthe time and human effort needed to pack the relevant shipping cartons.

An example of such a sorting system is generally shown at FIG. 8. Anelectromechanical sorting/conveyor system 10 is shown, such as are knownin the art, and transports individual shoe pairs within boxes 20 to apacking station 21. Boxes 20 are ultimately placed into cartons 24 fordelivery to specific stores. A bar code 30 located on each shoe box 20is scanned by the sorting equipment, which places the shoe box 20 on aconveyor section 14 (here a tilt-tray) for transport to each packingstation 21. The tilt-tray 14 deposits the shoe box 20 at the beginningof a lane 22 which leads to a packing station 21. Since the sorting ofthe shoes, their position within the lane, and the number of pairspacked into each carton is random, in conventional existing systems theworker packing the shoes must scan the individual shoe boxes todetermine which shoe pairs are packed within each carton. Thisinformation is needed because the cartons are randomly packed into trucktrailers and delivered to another location where they are unloaded andstored until they are delivered to stores. If a carton is lost, delayed,or damaged in transit, and inventory correction must be made correctly,the exact number and unique type of shoes must be known. The need forthe worker to individually scan the shoe pairs prior to packing takesenough time that elimination of such a step could result in an estimated30% productivity (pairs packed/time unit) improvement.

This savings in human labor is particularly valuable in systems thathave multiple packing lanes, each of which can be serially filled withgroups of shoes intended for the same shipping destination. The packeror packers simply must concentrate on identifying what set of boxes goto which destination. This is simplified by having cartons withpre-printed machine-readable indicia regarding shipping destinations andshipping lanes dedicated to specific destinations. In such a situation,the packer really only has to concentrate on which of the seriallydistributed boxes in each shipping lane is the last for a particulardestination or carton. Once the last box for a carton is identified,packing of the next carton commences. The process can proceed quicklyand accuracy is high.

It is to be understood that even relatively small savings in labor timein absolute terms for any given carton translates into substantialsavings in labor costs and increase in through-put when analyzed fromthe viewpoint of hundreds and thousands of cartons in large scaledistribution operations. Therefore, the above-described types of systemshave realized truly beneficial gains for companies with large scaledistribution centers.

Similar systems to that described above also exist in the art withresultant savings in time and labor costs.

1.2.3. Short-comings/Needs

While the use of automated systems or similar systems to that describedabove has increased the efficiency, accuracy and economy of keepingtrack of inventory of this type, there are still short-comings and thereis a need for improvement in this art.

One example is the present need for the packers, even though boxesintended for each shipping carton are presented in sets in the shippinglanes, to individually identify each shoe box in each shipping carton.Such information is essential so that accurate and complete retailoutlet billing records, contents by carton, and bills of lading can beprepared. Without this information, true inventory control is lost.

One solution would be to manually scan the bar code or other indicia oneach box that is put into a container. While advanced equipment such asradio frequency (RF) laser scanners can be used by the packers (whichcan instantaneously communicate by radio transmitters to the centralcontrol unit), the cost, in terms of time and labor expense, isprohibitive. As alluded to above, the automated conveyor systems try toaddress this problem by the known order in which the boxes are placed ineach shipping lane. The packer presently has only to scan the bar codeon the last box placed in each carton. By knowing the identity of thelast box in the carton, the identity of all boxes in the carton isknown.

However, the mere step of having packers manually scan each of the lastboxes packed in each carton is time-consuming. If this step could besubstantially eliminated, an improvement in efficiency and economy couldbe realized, at least in terms of time spent and labor costs. This isespecially true for large scale distribution operations.

1.3. Objects, Features, and Advantages of the Invention

Therefore, a primary advantage of the present invention is the provisionof an apparatus and method of inventory control which solves or improvesover the problems and deficiencies in the art.

Further exemplary objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention include the provision of an apparatus and method of inventorycontrol which:

1. eliminates the requirement that either the contents of each box orthe last box placed in a shipping carton be identified manually or withprocedures requiring manual steps;

2. allows easy placement of indicia onto each shipping carton that canbe used to identify the contents of the carton;

3. allows the identifying information to be placed on each of the goods,or packaging containing the goods, at the point of manufacture orcollection of the goods for shipment to outlets;

4. enables convenient and efficient machine-readability at any point inthe manufacturing process, including after being packed in a carton;

5. enables beneficial and efficient utilization with other importantinformation, such as shipping destination information, in a manner thatis efficiently machine-readable;

6. produces a substantial and realizable savings in human labor time andcost;

7. can utilize a multi-part label that can be made by conventionalmanufacturing techniques, is non-complex in structure, and yet allows apart to be detached to reduce the amount of manual labor needed to keeptrack of inventory.

These and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent with reference to the accompanyingspecification and claims.

2. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention includes a system to track inventory in whichknowledge of the location and content of any of the goods involved withthe system is known. Information regarding the individual goods isplaced on the goods during manufacturing, or during preparation fordistribution to wholesale or retail outlets. The information is known bya central controller. A sorting system has the capability of correlatingthe information of any of the goods with a location in the sortingsystem, and therefore the controller can control the placement of any ofthe goods to a shipping lane for packing into shipping cartons. Theinformation from any of the goods can be placed onto the shippingcarton, and thereby, the controller knows the contents of the entirecarton.

In one aspect of the invention, the information on the goods is in theform of a label and the label can be configured so that the informationcan be transferred and placed on a shipping carton. The informationplaced on the shipping carton can be machine-readable, and therefore,any need to read the information from any of the goods placed in the boxis eliminated.

The method utilizing the system or label results in elimination of atime-consuming and labor consuming step in inventory control whilemaintaining accurate information about the location of each item ofinventory.

3. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view and partial diagrammatic view of a hoe boxbearing a machine-readable pre-printed label, with the box positioned ona sorting system conveyor, and a machine for reading the label inoperative position.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the label shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a still further enlarged sectional view taken along line 3--3of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the label of FIG. 1 prior to cementon the box of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a plurality of labels of FIG. 4 on abacking sheet.

FIG. 6 is similar to FIG. 5 but shows a single label being removed fromthe backing sheet.

FIG. 7 is similar to FIG. 2 but shows in exploded form a secondary labelthat is removable from the main label attached to the box.

FIG. 8 is a perspective diagrammatic view of a portion of a sortingsystem, shipping lanes, and a shipping carton that can be used with theboxes and labels of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of a shipping carton of FIG. 8with a cut-away portion illustrating placement of boxes such as shown inFIG. 1 into the shipping carton, and further showing the application ofa secondary label to the exterior of the shipping carton.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a sheet of blank labels on a backing sheetwith diagrammatical indications of structural features of the labels.

4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

4.1. Overview

To achieve a better understanding of the invention, a preferredembodiment will now be described in detail. Frequent reference will betaken to the drawings which have been identified immediately above.

Reference numerals will be used to identify certain parts and locationsin the drawings. The same reference numerals will be used to identifythe same parts and locations throughout the drawings unless otherwisestated.

The preferred embodiment will be discussed in the context of a shoemanufacturer. The pairs of shoes in this example will all be containedwithin a shoe box. It is to be understood, however, that the inventionpertains to other types of goods, whether contained in boxes or bags orother packaging, or not.

Furthermore, the preferred embodiment will be discussed in the contextof an automated sorting system where the shoes, once manufactured arepaired by characteristics such as style, shoe size, and color. Othercharacteristics are possible. The sorting system can include a centralcontroller, preferably computerized, that contains information abouteach shoe box and its location within the sorting system. Such systemsare widely known. An example of one in current use is made by theKosan/Crisplant Company and identified by the trade name and/or productcode of Kosan Sorter. Other systems are available.

4.2. Sorting System

By referring to FIG. 8, a portion of such a sorting system is depicted.Sorting system 10 includes a conveyor 12 having individual sections 14(here tilt trays such as are known in the art). As shown in ghost linesin FIG. 8, each section 14 is independently controllable by instructionof the controller (not shown) to deposit any shoe box 20 into one of aplurality of shipping lanes 22. In this sorting system, conveyor 12moves in a path and carries a plurality of boxes 20. It is again to beunderstood that at the controller, each section 14 of conveyor 12 can becorrelated to whichever box 20 it is carrying at the time. Additionally,the controller knows the position of any section 14 that needs to beattained relative to a desired packing lane 22 to deposit a box 20 inthat particular lane 22.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 8, the sorting system can deliver any box 20carried on it to any packing lane 22. This allows the sorting system todeliver a group or set of boxes 20, all intended for the same shippingdestination, to the same shipping lane. As illustrated in FIG. 8, boxes20A, 20B, 20C, and 20D are all required to be shipped to retail outlet Xin city Y, in country Z. The sorting system not only can deliver thoseboxes to shipping lane 22A, but can do so in a manner whereby thesequence of the boxes in lane 22A is known by the controller. Therefore,by simply knowing the last box 20D in lane 22A that goes to location X,Y, Z, the controller also knows the identity of boxes 20A-C.

This type of sorting is well known in the art as well as the ability toidentify the contents of a group or set of boxes 20 by only knowing theidentity of the last box 20 in the group. The details of such a systemare well known to those skilled in the art and are available throughpurchase of such systems in the marketplace. They do not independentlyform the invention and therefore are not explained in more detail here.

The preferred embodiment is also described in the context of adistribution system that correlates each of its shipping channels to oneor more shipping destinations, and has a ready made stock of shippingcartons 24 available in close proximity to the relevant shipping lanes.Cartons 24 here have indicia, in the form of a bar code printed on alabel, that is affixed to the exterior of each carton 24. The label iscalled a carton or case label 26. The indicia includes both text andmachine-readable portions. The information in the indicia usuallyincludes at least information regarding the identity of the shippingdestination for that carton 24, such as the X, Y, and Z information.

Additionally, the preferred embodiment is described in the context ofeach box 20 having a machine-readable label 30 (here having pre-printedbar code information) applied to it. An induction scanner 28 (a laserbar code reader such as are widely known in the art) is placed upstreamof the shipping lanes 22, preferably before the boxes 20 are placed onconveyor, and can scan labels 30 (see also FIG. 4), which are placed oneach box 20. Since each label 30 contains, in bar code form, informationregarding style, color, and size of the shoes contained in it, thecontroller will store that information, and importantly, will at thesame time correlate the contents of each box 20 with a position on asection 14 of conveyor 12. Label 30 will be described in more detaillater in this description.

4.3. Apparatus

4.3.1. Containers and Goods

FIG. 1 shows shoe box 20 in more detail. Box 20 includes a lid 32 and amain portion 34. For purposes of this description one corner of the fourcorners of box 20 is particularly identified by reference numeral 36.Adjacent walls 38 and 39 of main portion 34 are also identified. A pairof shoes (not shown) is placed into box 20 for shipment and storage.

In the preferred embodiment, label 30 is placed so that a part of itextends outward from corner 36 on wall 38, and another part extendsoutward from corner 36 on wall 39. FIG. 9 shows in detail the structureof an example of a shipping carton 24, a conventional box, usually ofcardboard, having an open top that is closable by flaps surrounding thetop. Other types of shipping containers are possible.

4.3.2. Label(s) On Shoe Box

By referring now to in particular to FIGS. 1-7, more detail of label 30can be seen. As previously described, label 30 is intended to andtherefore is intentionally configured to be placed around a corner ofshoe box 20, in the position shown in FIG. 1. It is to be understood,however, that the placement of label 30 around a corner, or in theprecise position shown in the drawings is not a limitation of theinvention.

As shown by FIG. 2, label 30 of the preferred embodiment has printedmatter pre-printed on its outer facing side. Specifically label 30contains indicia in bar code section 42 positioned on wall 38 of box 20,and indicia in bar code section 44 positioned on wall 39 of box. Thedifference between bar code sections 42 and 44 is: (a) the size of coderegion (i.e., section 44 being the smaller); (b) section 42 has 4 digitlot no., 2 digit size, a random and a check digit; and (c) section 44has 10 digits: 4 digit lot no., 2 digit size, 2 digit product code,random digit and check digit.

Additionally, text and numerical information is contained on the side oflabel 30 positioned on wall 39 of box 20. Notably, this text includesthe shoe size.

By referring to both FIGS. 2 and 3, the physical structure of label 30can be seen. The outer-most layer of label 30 (see reference numeral 50in FIG. 3) contains the printed matter described above. Label 30, forthese purposes also referred to as main label 30, has adhesive appliedsubstantially across its inner surface to allow it to be mounted ontobox 20. As will be explained in more detail later, when main label 30 isapplied to box 20, a portion within the perimeter of main label 30 isremovable and itself can be adhered to another container, preferablycarton 24.

By referring to FIG. 2, this removable portion is defined by cut-line 60and is referred to as secondary label 40. The area indicated by dashedline 58 in FIG. 2 defines a releasable backing portion 54 that isinterposed between adhesive layer 52 and main label 30, and inparticular backs secondary label 40. Even more particularly, backingportion 54 (see FIG. 3), defined by dashed line 58 in FIG. 2, extends inall directions beyond the perimeter of secondary label 40. It thereforeshields all of adhesive layer 52 corresponding to secondary label 40from being used while main label 30 is adhered to box 20.

FIGS. 2 and 3 also show that when label 30 is mounted around the cornerof box 20, an end portion or tab 56 of secondary label 40 can beinfluenced to resist bending or be separable from main label 30 so thatit extends outwardly and is grippable by a worker. This allows theworker to peel off the secondary label 40 and separate it from the mainlabel 30. As will be discussed further below, because the size ofbacking portion 54 exceeds the size of the opening defined by cut line60 (which defines the perimeter of secondary label 40), backing portion54 remains captive underneath main label 30 but that portion of adhesivelayer corresponding with the shape of secondary label 40 separates withsecondary label 40. This is because the adhesive force between the backof secondary label 40 and the adhesive layer at that location is muchstronger than with the releasable backing layer portion 54 at thatlocation. FIG. 10 illustrates how a plurality of labels 30 can bemanufactured. They can be formed by conventional die cutting proceduresby placing a sheet of label stock, on releasable backing, on a web andfeeding the web/label/backing combination through label formingequipment during construction. This general process is conventional andknown in the art. Ultimately, the die cut combinations are fed through aprinter or like handling equipment to place the indicia on the face oflabels 30. This procedure is also conventional and well known in theart.

Main label 30 can be made of blank label stock with adhesivesubstantially covering its bottom face. First and second die cuts can beformed in the main label and backing respectively. The cuts can becreated by using die that produces certain cuts in plain label stock.

The cuts are such that they create a main label 30, and a secondarylabel 40 positioned entirely within the periphery of the main label 30.The first die cut (see line 60 in FIG. 10) defines secondary label 40within main label 30, and the second die cut (see line 58 in FIG. 10)forms a first removable segment 54 of the backing which overlaps thefirst die cut. The adhesive between main label 30 and the backing sheet62 exerts a greater force on the removable backing portion 54 than doesthe rest of the backing 62 so that when the main label 30 is removedfrom the backing 62 the removable backing portion 54 detaches frombacking 62 and remains with the main and secondary labels 30 and 40 (seeFIG. 6).

Tab 56 is integral with and extends outwardly from the secondary label40. When main label 30 is applied to a package (e.g. shoe box 20),secondary label 40 does not stick to the package 20 because of thepresence of backing portion 54. A perforation line (or line of weakness)78 connects tab 56 to secondary label 40 so that it can be detached anddiscarded.

Backing sheet 62 is coated with a suitable release agent such assilicone. Adhesive layer 52 can be a pressure sensitive adhesive.Removable backing portion 54 (of release material) underlies both themain and secondary labels 30 and 40 and is cut around secondary label 40so that when main label 30 is removed from backing 62, secondary label40 and a portion of the backing 62 underlying secondary label 40separate from the remainder of the backing but stay attached to mainlabel 30. After main label 30 is applied to a surface such as a box 20containing shoes, secondary label 40 may be removed from the underlyingbacking portion 54 without reducing its ability to stick to the othersurfaces.

FIG. 10 illustrates additional manufacturing details about labels 30.The labeled 56 area represents tab 56. Backing portion 54 is cut in theshape shown, whereas the face of label 30 is cut in outline shown exceptfor the part that abuts secondary label 40. Line 60 indicates the cutline for secondary label 40 (face cut) whereas line 58 indicates the cutline for backing portion 54 (backing cut, and not face cut).

Ties, indicated at 80, 82, and 84 and such as are known in the art, areleft so that some connection to the remainder of label 30 exists forboth secondary label 40 and backing portion 54. In the preferredembodiment, ties 80 of backing portion 54 are 0.0026 ins.; ties 82 ofbacking portion 54 are 0.0020 ins.; and ties 84 of secondary label 40are 0.0026 ins.

In the preferred embodiment the dimensions of label 30 are 37/16" longand 11/8" tall. Backing portion 54 is 21/41" long and 3/41" tall.Secondary label 40 is 21/16" long and 1/2" wide. These dimensionsillustrate how backing portion 54 is within the perimeter of label 30,and secondary label 40 is within the perimeter of backing portion 54.

FIG. 10 also shows score lines 64, which are optional, on either side ofsecondary label 40 generally aligned with the outer end of tab 56. Thesescore lines weaken label 30 to assist it in bending around the corner ofbox 20. Again note that the score lines 64 do not extend throughsecondary label 40, which influences tab 56 to stick up. Score lines (orfold perforations) 64 are 1/32" behind the outer edge of tab 56.

Therefore, FIG. 10 illustrates how multiple labels 30 are manufacturedon a sheet of label stock over a backing of release material, yet eachlabel 30 results in a multi-part label having a portion that isremovable and which can be adhered to another location.

It should be noted that the printing of labels 30 can be done solelyin-house by the company using the labels on blank label stock if desiredto keep information proprietary. The manufacturing of the labels can bedone on the web forms in combination with a plurality of substantiallyidentical labels. The labels are connected together at lines of weaknessto allow each label 30 to be removed and placed on a box 20 (see FIG.6). However, other manufacturing techniques can be used.

The adhesive is preferably permanent adhesive completely covering thebottom face of the main and secondary labels 30and 40. However, othertypes such as removable or repositional adhesive can be utilized ifdesired.

The backing layer 62 is conventional release material such as is knownin the art.

An example of where a label such as label 30 could be a "S. T. Warrentype 340" manufactured and obtained is UARCO, Inc., a paper and businessforms supplier having principle offices at P. O. Box 71660, Chicago,Ill. 60694-1660. Label 30 can be described as a removable strip adhesivebar coded label, a multi part label, or a multi-part adhesive form.

4.4. System Operation

Prior to reaching the distribution center, main label 30 is applied toboxes 20 containing goods of various styles and sizes. Main label 30 isbent around corner 36 of box 20 when it is applied. When main label 30is bent, secondary label 40 separates from the removable backing portion54 underlying it and remains straight so a tab end 56 of secondary label40 extends outwardly from corner 36 where it may easily be grasped forremoving secondary label 40 from the box 20. To further enhance theability to grasp the secondary label 40, the adhesive underlying the tabend 56 may be omitted or coated with an agent to reduce its ability tostick to the backing portion 54. Alternatively, the backing may be cutsurrounding the tab end 56 so the end is free to raise off the surface.

At the distribution center, the labeled boxes 20 are sent down aproduction line in a known sequence of styles and sizes and in groupsbound for particular destinations. Each of the groups is packed in oneor more cartons 24. The workers pack the cartons 24 in the order inwhich the boxes 20 are transported down the line and then remove thesecondary label 40 from the last box 20 placed in the carton 24 andapply the removed secondary label 40 to the carton 24. Because thesequence of styles and sizes are known, the contents of any particularcarton 24 can be readily determined by knowing the identities of thefirst and last boxes 20 placed into the carton 24.

A scanner 29 (see FIG. 8) positioned above the production line,downstream from the packers, identifies the last box 20 placed in thecarton 24 by reading the bar code on the removable portion 40 of thelabel 30 which was applied to the carton 24. The secondary label 40previously applied to the carton 24 identifies the last box 20 placed inthe carton 24. Because the identity of the last box 20 placed into theprevious carton 24 and the sequence of boxes 20 is known, the identityof the first box 20 in the current carton 24 is readily ascertainable.Thus, the contents of any carton 24 may be determined.

4.5. Alternatives/Options

The included preferred embodiment is given by way of example only, andnot by way of limitation to the invention, which is solely described bythe claims herein. Variations obvious to one skilled in the art will beincluded within the invention defined by the claims.

As previously mentioned, the goods discussed herein are shoes, and inparticular are pairs of shoes matched according to at least style,color, and size. Other goods, with or without containers, could be usedwith the system according to the invention. Indicia identifying thegoods could be placed directly on the goods if containers were not used.No significance should be placed on the fact that shoe pairs aredescribed here, as it would also work with singular goods.

Labels can be made of single side label stock with a backing sheet. Nospecial adhesives needed. only one is sufficient, no need for two ormore different types. However, optionally, a stickier rubber-basedadhesive (rather than the typical acrylic adhesive) is used to ensurethat the removable portion will stick when it is re-applied to thecarton.

If the goods themselves were not in containers, or otherwise are neededor desired to be labeled, an example of such a label would be on ahanging page attached to the item, or a reusable "tote" type tray usedto convey the item to the packing location.

Perforations can be created on each side of removable portion 40 so thatit is weakened and easily bends around the corner 36 of the box 20.However, the removable portion 40 itself is not perforated so that ittends to remain straight. Because the removable portion 40 remainsstraight, it sticks past the corner 36 when label 30 is applied to box20 to form tab 56 which a worker may grab to remove the portion 40 fromlabel 30.

At least two different techniques can be used to reduce the tab's 56adhesiveness so that it lifts off the backing 64 and remains straight toform the tab 56. In the first technique, tab 56 is formed by coating thetab adhesive with a release agent so that it does not stick to backing64. In the second technique, the backing 64 is cut under tab 56 so thatthe backing remains attached to tab 56 and tab 56 does not stick to thebox 20.

The removable, adhesive segment 40 can include a special bar code, whichis part of what is called the production control label (PCL). The barcode contains product information. It can be the uniform product code(UPC) but preferably is unique to and used solely by particular companyand will be called a production control label (PCL) to differentiate itfrom the UPC type bar code. The information coded onto the PCL can be:position 1--gender (M for men, W for women, K for kids); position 2--lotnumber (4 digit no.); position 3 is size (2 digit no.--size digit);position 4 is a random digit (0-9); and a check digit (Modulus 11 checkdigit).

Scanner 28 can be a bar code reader such as available from ACCU-SORTSystems, 511 School Home Road, Telford, Pa. 18969-1196, a manufacture oflaser scanning equipment, under model number "Double-X".

Scanner 28 must recognize the unique bar codes (both PCL and case label)used for the particular company using the system. This scannertechnology is widely available, and though it is critical to the presentinvention's process does not independently form nor is it claimedindependently as a part of this invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates that a down-stream scanner 29, like scanner 28 couldbe used to read carton label 26 as well as removable secondary label 40that is detachable from label 30. By means known in the art, scanner 29can create an electronic record of the "married" images of the bar codesof label 40 and the carton label 26, which together will constitute theidentification of the contents of a specific case as required.

I claim:
 1. A system to track inventory of a plurality of itemscomprising:a label on each item, each label containing indicia whichincludes identifying information regarding the item wherein the labelincludes a base portion affixed to the item and containing theidentifying information for the item and a removable portion containingidentifying information for the item; an induction reader comprising acomponent configured to read and store the indicia and interpret theidentifying information; a conveyor having a conveying path on which theplurality of items are transported in a known order; multiple loadinglanes, each having a known position relative to the known order of theitems on the conveyor; an unloading device operatively associated withthe conveyor configured to direct, from the conveyor into a respectiveselected one of the loading lanes each of the items being transported bythe conveyor; multiple shipping containers capable of containing aplurality of the items and having an external surface, each shippingcontainer associated with a selected one of the loading lanes; a controldevice operatively connected to the reader and the conveyor andconfigured to obtain the identifying information of each of the itemsbeing transported, correlate the location of each of the items beingtransported on the conveyor relative to a selected one of the shippingcontainers, operate the unloading device such that the items aredirected from the conveyor into the lanes, and correlate the locationand content in the lanes of the items transported thereto by theconveyor; so that items for the same shipping destination are placed inthe same lane to form a sequence of items having a last item, and, asthe items in a lane are packed into a shipping container, so theremovable portion of the label of the last packed item can be placed onthe external surface of the shipping container to indicate the itemspacked in the shipping container.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein eachof the items comprises a box in which goods are placed.
 3. The system ofclaim 2 wherein the goods are at least one pair of shoes, each pairhaving a style and size.
 4. The system of claim 3 wherein the indiciaincludes information regarding style and size of the at least one pairof shoes.
 5. The system of claim 1 wherein the indicia, at least inpart, comprises a bar code.
 6. The system of claim 5 wherein the readercomprises a bar code scanner.
 7. The system of claim 1 wherein thelocation of an item in the known order includes information regardingthe contents of that item.
 8. The system of claim 1 wherein eachshipping container is arranged to contain a group of the items intendedfor the same shipping destination.
 9. The system of claim 1 wherein theitems are packed in a respective shipping container in the orderreceived in the loading lane.
 10. The system of claim 1 wherein theremovable portion of the label is structured to be removed from the lastitem packed in the respective shipping container and applied to theexterior surface of that shipping container.
 11. The system of claim 1wherein each of the labels is applied around a corner of the respectiveitem in a manner that an end of the removable portion of the label ispositioned at or near the corner and can be gripped and separated fromthe remainder of the label.
 12. The system of claim 1 wherein the readeris positioned upstream from the loading lanes.
 13. The system of claim 1further comprising a case label, one placed onto each of the shippingcontainers and bearing machine-readable shipping destinationinformation, and a downstream reader placed downstream of the loadinglanes in an orientation configured to read the case label and therespective removable portion of the label applied to the container. 14.The system of claim 13 wherein the control device includes a componentconfigured to merge information from the case label and the removableportion of the label applied to the container into a record that can beelectronically stored.
 15. The system according to claim 1, wherein:thecontrol device is operatively connected to the reader, the conveyor andthe unloading device and structured such that the items placed in thesame lane to form a sequence of items are transferred in a predeterminedorder.
 16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the control deviceand conveyor are structured such that the items being transported to theloading lanes are arranged in a predetermined order.
 17. The systemaccording to claim 15, wherein the control device, the conveyor, and thereader are structured such that the location relative to a selected oneof the loading lanes of each item being transported by the conveyor isdetermined.
 18. The system according to claim 15, wherein the controldevice and the reader are structured such that the identity of the itemstransferred to each of the loading lanes is determined.
 19. The systemaccording to claim 15, wherein the indicia of the label of the last itemtransferred to a selected loading lane, to thereby complete the assemblyof the, sequence of items on that loading lane effectively identifieseach of the items comprising the respective sequence of items.
 20. Thesystem according to claim 15, wherein each of the items of the pluralityof items comprises a box containing goods.
 21. The system according toclaim 15, wherein each of the items of the plurality of items comprisesa box containing a pair of shoes.
 22. The system according to claim 21,wherein the indicia includes information related to the style of thepair of shoes.
 23. The system according to claim 21, wherein the indiciaincludes information related to the size of the pair of shoes.
 24. Thesystem according to claim 21, wherein the control device and theconveyor are structured such that the items being transported by theconveyor to the loading lanes are arranged in a predetermined orderrelated to the style and size of the pairs of shoes contained therein.25. The system according to claim 15, wherein the indicia comprises, atleast in part, a bar code.
 26. The system according to claim 15, whereinthe indicia includes the base portion of the label on each item havingfirst indicia and the removable portion of the label on each item havingsecond indicia wherein the first and second indicia comprise bar codethat, at least in part, contains identical information.
 27. The systemaccording to claim 15, wherein the reader includes a bar code scanner.28. The system according to claim 15, further comprising:a plurality ofcase labels, each attached to a respective one of the multiple shippingcontainers and containing destination indicia; the conveyor furtherincluding a downstream conveyor portion structured to transport themultiple shipping containers away from the multiple loading lanes; andthe reader further including a downstream component configured to readthe destination indicia of the respective case labels of, and theindicia of the respective removable portions secured to, the multiplecontainers being transported by the downstream conveyor portion.
 29. Thesystem according to claim 28, wherein the control device is furtherstructured to merge and store information obtained by the downstreamcomponent from corresponding ones of the destination and indicia of therespective removable portion secured to the respective shippingcontainer.